In the month of December 2017, the tradedeficit rose 71.4 percent year-on-year to $9.6 billion, with exports rising 8.6 percent to $13.9 billion but imports up 27.7 percent to $23.45 billion.

Over the course of 2017, exports rose 10.2 percent to $157.1 billion, the second-highest export volume in the history of the Turkish Republic, according to the provisional data from the ministry. Turkey’s highest export figure was recorded in 2014 at $157.6 billion.

The automotivesector again became the country’s top exporter with exports worth $23.9 billion, followed by the machinery sector and the clothing sector with exports worth $13.8 billion and $8.8 billion respectively.

The Turkish economy expanded beyond forecasts in the first quarter (5.3 percent), second quarter (5.4 percent), and third quarter (11.1 percent) of 2017, according to the Turkish Statistics Institute.